Okay, here’s yet another book I should have read a long time ago. Anne of Green Gables was a big part of my childhood, but, surprisingly, not in book form: I watched the TV series.
How that didn’t result in my reading the book, I don’t know. I’m not even sure I knew that there was a book, though I had a dim recollection of the illustrations. That series remains one of my Very Favorite Ever.
And visions of it are why I picked up the book. I needed to see something beautiful. It was the very end of winter, and I couldn’t wait for fresh green and flowers. (What’s funny, is that’s exactly what I got after reading the novel.) Since spring was just barely out of my grasp, I figured visions of Prince Edward Island might do. I needed something beautiful!
Anyway. In case you haven’t read it (or your kids haven’t filled you in): Anne of Green Gables is about a young orphaned girl, Anne Shirley, who is adopted by middle aged siblings, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, who live on Prince Edward Island in Canada. Matthew and Marilla wanted to adopt a little boy who could help them on the farm, but Anne appeared with a vast surplus of imagination and won them over. The book chronicles Anne’s adventures through childhood.
I really loved this book, and I’m almost wishing the series wasn’t so ingrained in my memory. I saw the characters from the series so clearly while I was reading. Which isn’t really bad because they were perfect choices. The series sticks really closely to the book.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czJi_FpLBYY&w=500&h=281]
Anne of Green Gables is, most of all, refreshing. It’s generally a happy book, and it feels fresh and clean like Spring. If everything is still dark and gray where you are, this is the one to pick up. Luckily, there are hints of green all over Shreveport, and the azaleas have started blooming. Anne of Green Gables got me through that last bit of winter blues: it was exactly what I needed.
